This invention relates to an assembly for automatically compensating variations in the spacing between first and second structural members due to manufacturing and/or mounting tolerances.
A vast number of assemblies for compensating variations in the spacing between structural members has become known. There have become known also assemblies which allow for automatic compensation of spacing variations, i.e. without any additional action of an operator, in order not to increase assembly time. Such assemblies are shown for example in DE 100 04 697 A1, EP 0 176 663 A1, and EP 0 848 168 A1. All these assemblies are relatively complex in that they require a relatively large number of components resulting in relatively high manufacturing and mounting costs.
Applicant's DE 101 51 383 A1 discloses an assembly for automatically compensating variations of a spacing between first and second structural members due to manufacturing and/or mounting tolerances, comprising a mounting bolt having external threads, a base element provided at said first structural member and having a threaded bore provided with adjustment threads and mounting threads of different diameters, and an adjustment sleeve having a thru-bore and external threads, said adjustment threads of said base element and said external threads of said adjustment sleeve forming a pair of threads of a predetermined spiral direction to allow adjustment of said adjustment sleeve for compensation purposes, and said mounting threads of said base element and said external threads of said mounting bolt forming a pair of threads of a spiral direction opposite to said first mentioned spiral direction to allow for fixing said assembly, and said adjustment sleeve having a drive portion for providing frictional drag between said adjustment sleeve and said mounting bolt so that rotation of the mounting bolt when inserted into the adjustment sleeve causes rotation of the adjustment sleeve, so that when the adjustment sleeve after compensation of variations has engaged said second structural member and said mounting bolt is rotated further, frictional drag between said mounting bolt and said adjustment sleeve is overcome in order to enable the mounting bolt to be clampingly fixed to said base element.
In this compensation assembly the drive portion of the adjustment sleeve has a clamping portion comprising a plurality of circumferentially spaced resilient finger sections defined by longitudinal slots in an end of the adjustment sleeve. The base element is comprised of a blind rivet nut which is fixed to the associated structural member by an upset bead such that the adjustment threads and the mounting threads of the adjustment sleeve are disposed on the side of the upset bead axially remote from said structural member. This prior compensating assembly is extremely simple as to its structure and mounting expenditure because it is made up of only three relatively simple components. Nevertheless, various improvements of this prior compensation assembly are possible and desirable.